Where the Heart Is
by Kuruk
Summary: Home isn't where you were born, or where you live, even. Home is where the heart is... and even when a young woman's heart is much too damaged to tell, some people like quiet blacksmiths can help her to find where her heart truly is...
1. Prologue

Another Harvest Moon story! This one centers around another OC, Patricia and her younger brother; Damian when they come to Mineral Town for reasons that shall not be discussed as of yet. Enjoy! Not part of the HMU, totally different!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon but I do own the plot, Patricia and her brother...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prologue

It was the Christmas holidays. All over the world people of all religions returned home to spend time with their families; let it be for Christmas or Hanukah or even Kwanza. It was definitely a magical time; when the trees were bare and the world covered by a blanket of white cotton…

The mood was infectious too. Even the grouchiest people came home happy, bearing gifts and smiles on their faces.

Homes were cozy and adorned with hot chocolate and coffee mugs, fireplaces crackling, heaters working overtime in the infinite cold.

It was Winter 24th, known to the world as Christmas Eve.

If it had not been for that reason, Patricia wouldn't find herself in a taxi heading for her parents' house. In fact, if it had not been for her little brother and elderly grandparents, she would not be heading home at all; Christmas Eve or not.

The taxi stopped in front of a nice looking house you expect to see on the cover of a nice novel about romance and family bonds; right out of the American Dream. This wasn't even America and it still looked pretty damn like the Partridge Family's house.

Two stories, finely landscaped yard, three cars pulled up in the driveway, double doors leading into a no doubt perfectly decorated psycho mom's pride and joy…

Pat paid the driver and retrieved her suit case and poorly wrapped presents from the trunk, the taxi driver too lazy to actually help the young lady himself.

"Yup," Pat murmured as she slung more gift bangs over her shoulder, "Chivalry is definitely dead…"

The driver drove off quicker than you could say 'cold', leaving Pat alone of the empty street, staring at the house that had been her prison for the first eighteen years of her life.

You could practically hear the Christmas songs emanating from the entire block, and Pat trudged over to the front door, kicking it hard as her hands were full of her luggage and such. She smirked when the songs from inside the house stopped abruptly. Just a little fun before she was perpetually tortured by the Christmas cheer.

The door opened and a slim woman in an apron answered the door, an artificial smile on her perfect housewife face.

"Hello mother…" Pat muttered.

"Look whose home from college!" she exclaimed, hugging Pat despite all the bags she was holding. Pat stiffened, hoping it would be over soon. After what seemed like an eternity her mother let go and ushered her in, calling out the names of the house's inhabitants in a merry voice.

The house was warm, definitely cozy… but something about it made Pat shudder involuntarily as the memories of the seemingly perfect existence she'd lived out returned to her.

Her little brother was the first in the living room, a big smile on his face as he ran in, throwing himself on Pat who dropped the bags just in time to hug him back.

"Hi Patty! Merry Christmas!" her younger brother Damian said happily, making her smile briefly, "You're late!" he added after pulling away and inspecting the gifts that now lay on the floor, looking for the one that said 'Damian' on it.

"I know I know…" Pat muttered as she picked the gifts back up, "But the plane was delayed because of a snowstorm back in the states and it took me forever to get a cab…"

Her mother smiled, bending over to help her with picking up the packages. "What matters is that you're here now!" she said, handing some packages over to her, getting up, "Where is that father of yours? Donald? Donald! Your daughter is here!"

"I know Gladys," a gruff voice said, making Pat shudder when she looked up and saw him, "Hello, Patricia. How's school going? Better be good considering how much I'm paying for it…"

His tall frame towered over her; something she always found unnerving. His face, frowning, only made Pat angrier. And what terrified her the most was the glass off whiskey he held at his side.

Not even bothering with a smile, Pat acknowledged him by looking at him and placed the gifts under the tree, all the while Damian asking her how school was, what she was doing, is she had any boyfriends.

"School is fine, nice and far away. As you already know I'm studying Comparative Literature; doing good in it actually. My professor's pretty cool… Damian, you know I don't date much…" she added with a sigh.

"C'mon Patty!" Damian whined, "I want nephews and nieces already!"

"I'm 21 Damian! Don't you think that's a bit young to have kids, let alone get married?" Pat said.

"Stop bickering you too!" their mother called from the dining room, "Dinner's ready! Come and get it!"

Pat grudgingly did so, looking at the no doubt impressive dinner her mother had made for them. Turkey, mashed potatoes, corn… the works. Pat ate lightly, provoking a few remarks from her mother and brother. Both she and her father stayed silent, the tension mounting and mounting… about ready to explode any moment.

Thankfully, dinner finished before it exploded and Damian took his sister's hand in his own and led her upstairs to her old room; exactly as she had left it.

"Better get to bed soon," Damian said, heading for the door, "Santa is coming and you don't want him to see you awake, do you?"

Pat smiled. Damian was ten and still believed in Santa Claus. Really cute, but soon he'd find out the truth and it would maybe hurt him…

Damian headed for the door but Pat walked over to him and grabbed his arm loosely, he winced. Pat didn't notice and hugged him tight. "Forgetting a hug, mister?" she asked, forgetting how long it had been since she'd hugged her little brother.

Too long… not since summer…

Damian flinched and pulled away, making Pat freeze. "G-goodnight Pat…" he muttered, heading for the door.

Again Pat stopped him, grabbing his wrist. Damian pulled only to find that his sister's grasp was too strong. After trying to escape for a few minutes, he finally gave up. "Show me your arms," she commanded.

"Patty no-,"

"I said show them to me!" she hissed, pulling up his sleeves-,

Bruises… fresh too…

"Patty I fell-," Damian started, voice breaking.

"Like hell you did!" Pat yelled, suddenly overcome with rage, "I told you to call me if this happened!" as she yelled she pulled his sleeve further back, revealing more and more bruises, "Since when has this been happening!?"

Damian finally sobbed, defeated. He looked up at Pat tearfully, pleading with her to let it go… Her glare made him tell her; that glare meant she wouldn't drop it until he talked. "S-since you left…"

Pat opened her mouth, overcome with shock and disbelief. Every time she'd come she'd checked; just to make sure…. Just to make sure that her brother wasn't getting what she had gotten all her life. He was… she hadn't been thorough enough… and now he'd paid for it.

It was her fault… If she hadn't run away from him to go to college he would be fine. She hated herself for it… "Come," she commanded, grabbing his wrist and leading him to his room, "Get your stuff."

"Pat-," he cried.

"Now!" she commanded, pushing him in and locking the door, running off to her own room to do the same, picking up her thankfully packed suitcase and taking it back into the hallway, where she opened Damian's room to find that he was just standing there.

She heard the TV blaring; they had only a little time, but not that much. Pat frantically grabbed a suitcase from his closet and just started throwing clothes in randomly. When she could fit no more in, she took his hand and ran down the stairs, taking care to cover Damian's mouth and making sure both suitcases didn't hit the stairs.

"What are you doing up-," her mothers started, eyes widening in terror as she saw Pat holding her brother's hand, _two _suitcases in hand, "Patricia, _no!_" she gasped.

"Get outside," Pat commanded, throwing both her brother and his suitcase out into the cold, eyes locked on her mother's.

"Donald! _Donald!_" her mother was screaming.

"How long have you known about this!?" Pat was screaming, "How long did you just sit and watch that monster tear your son up too!?"

She heard her father's footsteps and she ran outside, picking up both her brother's suitcase and him, running over to the cars. Pulling out a key from her pocket, she stuck it in one wheel of each car just as her father tore the door open, eyes filled with fury.

Pat ran, dragging her brother with her just as the taxi she'd called arrived in front of the gates.

She heard her mother's frantic screams and her brother's cries of protest, buts he couldn't care less. Throwing open the door she threw her brother and both suitcases in, looking at the cabby.

"I'll pay you a hundred extra if you don't stop for _anything_!" she cried, throwing a wad of crumpled twenties at the man, who stepped on the gas and sped down the street as her father came out onto the street after him.

"Pat-," Damian began.

"Get me to Diamond City Port!" Pat commanded.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hours later they were on a ferry, her brother asleep in the run-down seat next to her.

When she'd first arrived at college she'd haired a dorm with a black-haired artist; a junior. Over time, they'd bonded and she'd shared stories about the town she'd come from.

"It's the boonies," she explained one night, "No one knows it exists and is just a short ferry ride away from Diamond City. Small town. Everyone knows each other and stuff like that. Really isolated… It's called-,"

"Mineral Town…" Pat repeated as the island came into view.

They'd start new here. Her parents would never be able to find her and she'd be able to keep Damian safe here.

A new beginning…

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is just the sad prologue setting the stage for what is to come. Wait and you'll find romance, friendship, rivalry, and drama. Reviews are greatly appreciated so R&R!


	2. Welcome to the Boonies

Six reviewers! I'm very, very pleased with the way you are pleased with the story! I only hope that I can continue to live up to your expectaions!

Fairy Friend: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like this story!

naru-chan13: Thank you (Closer style)

Dispensing of Existence: Glad you like Pat better than Sophia. I promise I'll not turn her into a Mary-Sue (though I created Sophia without drawing off anyone else) and tweak Sophia a bit. I like Kai best but Gray is actually cool too. I know he must havee a backstory; living with Saibara in a place he's always so bitter and everything. Well, continue reading!

Shippostail: That's what I aim for! I promise more heart-beat-increasing twists will be jam-packed into this story!

God'schild777- The prologue unfortunately had to be sad... It sets the tone for Patricia and what she must do. Maybe her experiences in MT will change her... maybe not. God Bless You Too!

DoubleKK: Thank you. I have adopted the James Patterson style of writing. Short paragraphs that are simple yet tell all that needs to be told. Continue reading!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter One: Welcome to the Boonies

The ferry soon touched land and Pat lead her half-asleep brother down the sandy beach, eyes still cold as she took in her surroundings.

The sun had just only started to appear over the horizon, dimly lighting the beach and revealing a bit of their surroundings. Pat made out to buildings side by side, a couple of silhouetted umbrellas and a sign near ascending steps. The rest was left to her imagination as she walked down the beach, suitcases trailing behind her.

When they came to the steps they found themselves in a brick-paved square, the light making them look a yellow-orange. Banners were hanging on the trees with messages Pat could not make out in the light of dawn.

Not hesitating even a moment in the alien environment Pat trudged forward; going God knows where in a godforsaken town in the middle of nowhere.

After leaving the square she came to a path with snow everywhere save the actual path; beautiful trees covered by a heavy blanket of snow, houses here and there with smoke coming out of old-style chimneys; snow atop the roofs too.

After wandering around a bit she came to a big building that had a sign that read 'Inn'. Pat walked in, little brother trailing behind, hand clasped around hers.

To her surprise the building was actually left unlocked; something that would never happen in the city.

Before was no Inn, but instead a bar. Tables were everywhere with the seats atop them. A long counter laid ahead of her and behind it the familiar glass bottles of liquor.

Pat shuddered involuntarily, only now pausing. She hated bars; hated the scent of alcohol and the drunks that stumbled in and out of places like this. Even though she was 21 and now of legal age to drink she had not once tried the stuff. Despite how college kids were really passionate about partying and drinking Pat had stayed unaffected by the environment even though she'd been _in it._

She knew what alcohol did to someone; how it twisted their personality and warped their inhibitions; making them so things that they would not normally do…

Coming back to her senses, she slapped herself mentally for thinking that way. Drinkers had a choice. Her father had a choice when he put that damned glass to his lips. He and all others who drank and did stupid things were at fault; it wasn't the drink that made them do it; it was them and their flimsy self control.

Her brother's moan brought her back to reality. He seemed to be stirring out of his half-asleep state. This meant she only had a few minutes to get him into bed before he woke up and freaked out

_Well Pat, it's either deal with your alcohol phobia and stay here or go back out into the cold and back to _them

Pat nodded grimly; she had no choice. It wasn't just her at stake; it was her brother now too.

Taking short steps to let Damian keep up; she came up to the counter and rang the bell on it once, ignoring the scent she hated so much.

After ringing it more than a dozen times, a man with fiery-orange hair walked out. Tall and imposing, his sleep crusted eyes looked at them, both a bit confused and annoyed.

The broad shouldered man walked up to the counter and gave both Pat and Damian a look as if he were scanning them for anything odd; as if they were mutant freaks right out of the X-Men or something. "Welcome," he said gruffly, making Pat shudder in remembrance, "What is it exactly you need at five in the morning?"

Pat disregarded the heavy sarcasm and stuck a hand in her small handbag and brandished her wallet. "I'd like a room, please," Pat said unrevealingly, "Preferably with two beds. How much is that?"

The man looked at her suspiciously, small dark eyes giving her another one over before he spoke again. "When is it that you'll be checking out?"

"Until further notice," Pat replied.

The man looked at her suspiciously once again, but Pat's level gaze dissuaded his suspicions and instead he extended a gigantic paw to Pat. "The name's Doug, I run this inn."

"Patricia and Damian," she replied, shaking his hand uneasily. Doug nodded and led her up a flight of stairs and into a small hallway with just two doors.

Yep, this must be the smallest inn Pat had ever seen in her entire life…

Doug opened the first door; revealing an empty somewhat homely room with two beds. "Thank you… Doug…" Pat said, dropping the suitcases by the door and turning to the man, face as unrevealing as ever.

Doug forced a smile and descended the stairs, all the while muttering something about waking up so early on a cold night like this.

Pat quickly closed the door and locked it. She grabbed her brother's hand and led him over to a bed where she eased him onto it, smiling as he snuggled into the blankets. She bent over and kissed his forehead. "Merry Christmas…" she muttered, remembering exactly what day it was today.

Pat then sat on her own bed and just stared off into space. She was waiting for her father to break the door down and take Damian away… He'd always done that when she'd attempted to run away earlier in her childhood no matter how far away she got.

It wasn't until an hour later that Pat nodded off, never once realizing that maybe she had finally escaped.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a knock on the door that woke Pat up from her slumber. Blinking once or twice before she finally was able to regain full consciousness, she immediately looked over to the other bed.

She sighed in relief; Damian's form was still snuggled up tight against the blankets, body rising and falling normally.

Another knock on the door. Pat got up and carefully tiptoed over to the door. "Who is it?" she asked in a poor imitation of a southern accent.

"Cleaning!" a cheery voice cried from outside, "Do you want me to come back later?"

Female from the sounds of it. Shooting a look at the still sleeping Damian, she made up her mind. "Yes, it'd be nice if you could drop by an hour or two from now."

"Got ya!" the girl said, voice positively filled with boundless energy, "We're having a party in honor of the Christmas Festival downstairs at six. All the townspeople are coming and all guests staying here are invited! Hope to see you there, miss!"

And with that the bundle of boundless energy could be heard knocking on the room next door; and by the sound of it its occupant let her in.

"Christmas party…?" a little voice said from behind her. Damian was now awake and sitting up in bed, rubbing his sleep crusted eyes with his little fists.

Smiling, Pat walked over to her brother and knelt down by his bedside. "How are you feeling?"

Damian frowned at her and looked at the room; no doubt taking in his surroundings in for the first time. He must have done that for a minute or two; taking in every little detail as Pat herself liked to do whenever she found herself someplace new.

Finally satisfied, Damian turned his penetrating blue-eyed gaze to Pat. "I… I…" he said, fumbling with his words, "I… miss mom and dad…"

Pat scowled at him and got to her feet, turning to look out of the small frost covered window and out onto an empty street. "One day you'll understand why I had to get you out of there."

"But I didn't want to go! You made me do it" Damian whined.

Pat knew that arguing with him would just agitate him further and cause him to throw a tantrum. The thing about Damian was that after being raised by wealthy parents all his life he often expected the best things. He wanted things when he wanted them and would get very upset when he didn't get them. He was what many may call a spoiled brat; however, this spoiled brat wasn't as bad as some.

He was kind and understanding, empathetic and loving. Being spoiled was one of his flaws, but then again, everyone had flaws. Look at their parents! Their father was a violent alcoholic and their mother a woman obsessed with the appearance of perfection.

Even Pat seldom trusted anyone and was automatically suspicious of someone when she first met them. Hell, she had a short fuse and was a slob. She procrastinated every minute of her life and often chose the hard way just to avoid being indebted to anyone.

Compared to her, Damian's flaws were severely outweighed by her own.

"We're staying here. I'll get a job in a supermarket or one of these farms or something while you go to school…" Pat said, knowing full well that she would never be able to go back to school. But it was acceptable in this case.

Damian whined some more about there being no TV in the room for a good ten minutes. Then he moved on to there being no movie theaters or toy stores or anything 'interesting' in the town.

Pat had learned a long time ago how to tune Damian out. She could ignore him for hours, blocking his voice out by formulating ideas for her novel or making up short stories in her head. Granted, they usually entailed disemboweling a little blonde ten year old begging for a pony but it kept her sane long enough for Damian to tire out.

When sounds from outside filtered into the room Damian ceased in his rant and went over to the door, putting his ear to the wood curiously. "Sounds like a party…" he mumbled. Doing a 360 with his temperament he turned to Pat, big blue eyes pleading with her, "Oh _please _Patty," he whined, "A party! I wanna go to the party, Patty! Please let me go to the party!"

Pat frowned and shook her head, making Damian cry out in protest. "I don't want you down there while a whole bunch of island hicks get drunk off eggnog," she said arms crossed, "We'll stay here until tomorrow."

"But it's Christmas!" Damian exclaimed, "It's all because of you Santa couldn't find me! You took me away and out into the middle of nowhere! I want to go home or go to that party! I don't wanna be stuck here in this cage! Take me to the party!"

Resisting the urge to throw the boy she'd just sacrificed everything for out the window, Pat considered. The girl had said that the whole town would be there. It would be an ideal opportunity to go job hunting… Still, holidays and celebrations in general provoked drunken brawls; something Pat despised more than anything.

Still…

"Okay," Pat conceded, making Damian punch the air in victory, "But I want you within five feet of me all the time! I don't want-,"

Pat stopped when she noticed that instead of listening Damian was shedding his pajamas and putting on his clothes. Before taking off his shirt he looked at her in annoyance. "Do you mind, Patty?"

Sighing, Pat left the room to give her brother some privacy.

"They grow up and forget you changed their diapers and gave them freaking baths for the first few years of their lives…" Pat said to herself.

Maybe she didn't know her little brother as well as she always thought she did. If that were true, it scared her, especially in her new position. She wasn't just Damian's sister now; she was his mother, primary caregiver, whatever. Mothers/primary caregivers needed to know their kids/charges inside and out; be really keen and notice stuff like if they're sick or if they're hungry or are hiding something…

The door opened revealing a fully dressed Damian. He grabbed her hand and ran down the stairs and into the bar. Once there all the patrons turned to look at them, confused looks on their faces.

_Nice first impression… _Pat told herself.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There ya go! Another chapter completed! Keep reading and reviewing! I promise that Pat and Gray's meeting will come about soon (I'm planning a very dramatic one as of Chapter 3!) Let's just say that Pat's attitude will shock the assistant blacksmith as he is not accustomed to being responded to in that way... eat your heart out Mary! R&R!


	3. Parties Suck When You Don't Know Anyone

Thank you thank you thank you for the 11 reviews! I appreciate you dedicated readers reviewing! To those of you that have read and have decided to review please do, as I love to hear input from various of both my story's (The Foreigner isn't that successful...) faults and overall the things you like best! Now to answer my wonderful reviewers...

DoubleKK: Could be wrong could be right, I suppose... From the summary you already know that she falls for him but the question is _when and how?_ I'll give you a cookie for guessing that though... but it's even better than that... heheheh...

iterica: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please continue to do so! If you love it so far then you'll love it even more when the Pat x Gray stuff starts...

Dispensing of Existence: Heheh... yeah... I plan to do something on that later during one of his rants. I tried to make Pat more 'human' as you say to avoid any Mary-Sueiness. Don't worry, if you keep redaing teh Foreigner you'll find Sophia isn't all that perfect either... Well, thanks again!

klutz586: I'm sorry to hear that... I assure you that Damian was created solely from thought. I hope that Damian is okay now... Thank you for teh compliment and keep reading!

God'schild777: Thank you for your continued support! That goes for all of you! Back at you!

Enjoy!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Two: Parties Suck When You Don't Know Anyone There

The bar was full of people. People with a weird sense of style. People listening to the weirdest music that had ever made its way into Pat's ears. People that were staring at Pat and Damian like _they_ were the weird ones.

Disturbed by this, Pat grabbed on to Damian's hand. An exasperated moan of protest escaped his lips when he pulled his hand out of hers, obviously failing to understand the comfort his older sister needed from him.

"Ah!" Doug called from behind the bar, face smiling at them as he approached the newcomers, "Glad you could make it…?"

"Patricia and Damian…" Pat replied shortly, not too successful in hiding the discomfort of being under the townspeople's gazes that seemed to look right into her soul; all knowing and on some people's faces even a bit judgmental.

Doug nodded and turned to the crowd. "This is Patricia and her brother Damian. They checked in this morning," he turned to a small man in a red suit and a top hat, a moustache dominating his upper lip.

"Oh yes," the little man said, walking over to Pat and Damian, hand extended, a friendly smile on his face, "Doug told me all about you two! Let me be the second to welcome you to Mineral Town!"

"Are you Santa?" Damian asked excitedly, containing the urge to jump up and down at the sight of the red-clad man. Everyone in the room chuckled, uttering words like 'Cute,' and 'Adorable,'

Come to think of it, the little man _did _look a lot like Saint Nicholas. Wearing red, short, had a rather pronounced belly… All that was missing was the hat and white beard!

The man chuckled and ruffled Damian's hair, making Pat tense nervously. No one touched kids they hardly knew in any way period. It was either that this man was a freak or someone who thought just because he was dressed in a Santa outfit we cold pet the kids whenever he wanted. Neither was appealing to Pat.

"No, no young man! My name is Thomas and I'm the mayor of this fine town!" the man in red said with a big smile, turning his gaze to Pat, "A pleasure to have you both here on this joyous day!"

"Oh can it, Thomas!" an old man with white hair and beard said from a table in the back. He actually looked more like Santa than the mayor, but something about him made Pat think he was more of a scrooge than a Santa, "Can't you see that you're scaring the girl?"

Thomas looked at the girl worriedly. "I hope I'm not being too forward, miss. If I am then I apologize for it…"

Pat forced a smile and shook her head. "Not at all, Mister Mayor…"

"Please!" Thomas exclaimed, "Call me Thomas!"

"Okay Thomas!" Damian said, jumping around as if he had ants in his pants.

Pat waited a few seconds before replying herself. "Alright… Thomas…"

Thomas nodded and led Pat and Damian around, introducing them to the townspeople.

There was of course Doug who ran the inn and Ann; his daughter who cleaned the rooms. There was Lillia; the pale woman with astounding cotton candy colored hair who ran the Poultry Farm, Rick; her son who helped out, and Popuri; a pretty girl who shared her mother's hair. There was Claire; a beautiful blonde that ran the Dragonfly Farm.

There was also Doctor Tim; a serious looking black haired man in a white lab coat with his girlfriend; Elli; a nurse at the local clinic. The old man who had spoken up before was Saibara; the blacksmith. Then there was Harris; Thomas' son and the constable of the town who had a particularly big nose that Damian laughed at, making the constable look at him in confusion.

There was Duke and Manna; the couple who ran the Aja Winery who were constantly bickering, Anna and Basil; a couple who lived next door to the library that their rather mousy daughter Mary ran. Then there was Jeff and Sasha, the couple that ran the Supermarket. Their daughter was Karen; a beautiful woman that was downing beers by the keg-full, only pausing to greet an abhorred Pat.

Then there was Barley; an old man that ran the Yodel Farm and his granddaughter May who was sitting at a table with a boy named Stu; Elli's younger brother and May's best friend from the looks of it.

The kids accepted Damian with big smiles, and Pat reluctantly parted with him and was sat down at a table occupied by Ann, Mary, Claire and Popuri, who were looking at the newcomer with big smiles on their faces.

Ann had her fiery red hair tied back in a tight ponytail, big blue eyes radiating boundless energy. She wore blue overalls over a yellow shirt and tennis shoes.

Popuri had startling cotton candy-pink hair that poofed down her back. Intriguing reddish eyes were locked on Pat, a friendly, somewhat bubbly smile on her face.

Claire was definitely the classic American beauty. With long blonde hair and big blue eyes she made the other girls look plain by comparison. The blue eyes in question looked at Pat in a friendly manner.

Mary had long black hair braided so that it fell down her right shoulder. Behind her glasses dark eyes looked out at Pat, a strange mix of awareness, intelligence and sharpness and a little inexplicable jealousy hidden just behind them.

"Hi Patricia!" Popuri exclaimed, closing her eyes and smiling at her, "Welcome to Mineral Town!"

"Glad to be here…" Pat said, trying to keep the conversation to a minimum.

The girls however, did not seem to notice that she was uncomfortable in talking to them and kept talking. "Merry Christmas again, Patricia!" Ann said, scratching the back of her head as she did so.

After more pleasantries that Pat could do without were exchanged, Claire changed the subject (thank God) and turned to look at Mary. "Why isn't Gray here?"

Mary scowled and pushed her glasses up her nose. "Saibara wouldn't let him come because he messed up on an upgrade; _yours_ actually…"

Claire was noticeably miffed but did her best to hide it. "Sorry for that, Mary…" she said, hiding the annoyance behind a thin veil with a strained apologetic smile.

Mary waved her off and sipped at the steaming mug of hot cocoa on the table. "So Patricia," Ann said, anxiously trying to avoid confrontation, "What do you do?"

Patricia twiddled her thumbs in her lap, cursing that she'd let Damian convince her to do this. "I'm between jobs-," she started.

"Ah," Mary said, "I see… You came here to see if you could get lucky and get a job? Sorry to say that all positions are filled, unless of course you want to become the town hippie like that dreadful man from the Valley."

"Mary!" Popuri chided, "Stop being so rude!" Mary just shrugged and turned her dark eyes on Pat again; as if challenging her.

Pat was never one to refuse a challenge, and her own eyes locked on Mary, the tension she usually felt when being confronted by her father bubbling up inside her.

"Actually I was a student at Yale before I came here," she said coldly, and she took pleasure in seeing Mary flinch in surprise, "Comparative Literature. I'm an author too."

Popuri frowned, smoothing out the invisible wrinkles on her blouse. "Yale? Is that a good school…?"

Before Mary could give her a reply Claire cut in. "Yes Popuri, it's one of the best schools in the world. You know," she nudged her gently, "One of the Ivy League schools in the United States."

Popuri still didn't understand but faked it, making a sound of understanding and nodding slowly. "I bet Kai's been there… he'd been everywhere…"

Pat looked at Mary smugly, challenging her as she'd done earlier. "An author, eh?" Mary asked, sipping her cocoa, "Have you finished a manuscript yet?"

Pat shook her head. "No… but I submitted short stories into con-,"

Mary snorted arrogantly and put her mug back on the table. "Well _I _have already finished three and have mailed them to a publishing house in Diamond City… as of now I'm just waiting for a reply."

Pat snorted. "What'd you make it about? Don't tell me it was beauty tips, because if it was you wouldn't even sell more than a hundred copies…" Mary's eyes widened, "You know, maybe less than twenty… seeing as how no one really likes you… Maybe your _parents_ would… but even _that's_ stretching it…"

Mary huffed indignantly and scooted her chair back and stormed off to another table, leaving her mug of cocoa behind.

When she was a safe distance away Popuri burst out laughing and was soon joined by Claire who exchanged high-fives with the pink-haired girl. Ann sniggered and covered her face with her hand.

"That was _good_," Claire said, looking at Pat as if she'd just seen her, "I think I'm going to like you, Patricia…"

Pat smiled in victory, looking at Mary who had joined her parents, her back turned to them. "What's her problem?" Pat asked the girls.

Ann cleared her throat and picked up the mug, taking it to the bar. "Not only is she going through PMS but she's also man-less…" Popuri said behind her hand, "Like she said, Gray is stuck at old grouch Saibara's house finishing an upgrade and he couldn't even see her today."

Claire shrugged and picked up her own mug of steaming coffee. "She's still acts like she has a stick up her butt most of the time, though. I think she acts like that because no one will visit her library."

Ann plopped down in the empty seat and handed Pat a mug of hot cocoa which she accepted happily. "Not our fault," she said, "We're all too busy to visit her creep library… The only people who visit are Gray and Tim… Tim just to check out books on medicine for reference and Gray just to see her…"

Popuri leaned in closer to the center of the table. "Yeah but I heard that even Gray isn't going to the library that much anymore…"

The girls continued gossiping. Pat spaced off after that, wondering how she could be sitting here gossiping as if she was one of them. She wasn't; she hadn't lived the perfect small town existence they had. She was a city girl and was only here for a little while to avoid the heat her parents would dish out to find them.

She craned her neck to look at Damian, who was laughing loudly at one of Stu's jokes. Apparently he'd just shown May a lizard and she'd squealed in terror, provoking both boys to start laughing at her loudly much to May's apparent dismay.

He seemed… happier than he had at home. It was strange but he did seem happier here; a place he was a stranger in and had nothing than in a place he'd had everything.

Sure he wasn't getting beaten; but he'd _wanted _to stay despite the fact he was getting beaten.

She couldn't pretend to try and understand a ten year old's complex workings of the mind; it seemed like a millennia since she'd been his age and she wasn't a psychologist.

The only thing Patricia understood that seeing her little brother happier than ever made her happy as well. If he was happy then his wounds could heal. The happiness would do his little heart well.

And it was Pat's job to ensure that no one would ever hurt him again. That his happiness was protected.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay... are you ready? Next chapter Pat meets Gray in a... shocking and very dramatic encounter in which both of them will learn something from the experience...

To the Mary lovers: sorry... I decided to make Mary a beotch because I wanted to present that angle of her. She'll serve as Pat's rival throughout the story so please don't blame me for making her very mean, bitter and vindictive...

R&R!


	4. The Monster Within

Here it is! The fateful encounter between Pat and Gray! Are you ready?

Just a warning: this chapter contains more cursing than any of my previous works and a little violence. Just letting you know...

Well, now that that's out of the way let me thank my NINETEEN REVIEWERS!!!

God'schild777: Thank you once again! Here's a cookie for being one of my dedicated reviewers! Keep going!

Dispensing of Existence: I actually like Mary a little... If you look at my profile you'll see I'm planning to make a fic called 'Mary, Mary Quite Contrary'. Mary will be the main character. Anyway, thanks for your support!

klutz586: Hmmm... bacon... Thanks! devours

memekabss: Well, almost everyone makes farmers... For my stories I enjoy making people that fit in in different places like Sophia and Pat. It's quite alright that you didn't see it before; all that matters is that you're reading now! Yay! Keep reading and reviewing!

crescentbellflower: Will do! You'll notice I enjoy updating a lot (The Foreigner was just updated too!). Keep at it!

Shippostail: Heheh... Serves her right, I think...

KCemployee: Hmm... I guess you're right. Still, Mary will be her rival in many ways, kinda the mean antagonist that keeps getting in the way, yada yada yada. Keep R&Rng!

naru-chan13- Thank you for the suggestion! They're always welcome, by the way! Okay, I know what you see... Chapter Five will have a mean Pat vs. Mary thing. I'm working on that now!

Thank you thank you thank you once again! Ready? Read and review!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Three: The Monster Within

Pat had actually begun adjusting to life in Mineral Town.

She'd gotten a job from Doug as the inn's errand girl; picking up groceries and delivering food to people like a hardworking Claire and Tim to old lady Ellen. Doug offered her free room and board as a result for both her and Damian which was perfect for them.

What was best was that Carter; the town's pastor taught the children for most of the day. Damian would run off with May and Stu to school from nine to four at which time Pat was off work and able to take care of her brother.

She had been suspicious of the child-loving Carter at first, but after being reassured by Doug and even May and Stu she let go. May and Stu would often take Damian to the beach or play in the small vacant lot by May's house so Pat was often free to roam about the town until six at which the kids went home for dinner.

Soon spring came and the winter coats came off, letting the children go off into the beach and people to walk around freely.

Pat was astounded by how beautiful the town was in spring. Flowers blooming all around the path, Claire's farm beginning to sprout new life of its own in more ways than one, the Poultry Farm was bustling with chickens…

Really pretty, real inviting… but for some reason Pat felt like the third wheel in the town. Sure Claire, Ann and Popuri had adopted her into their group after the incident with Mary but even though _they _considered her to be a part of the group, Pat didn't.

It was odd, especially when Damian had become a 'townsperson' so fast. He started wearing homemade clothes Ellen had sewn for him like almost everyone else in the town and started talking like them too. His whining was kept to a minimal and he never talked about their mother and father.

Still… for some reason Pat had never really become a part of the town.

One rainy spring day Doug sent Pat on a job. She was to go to the blacksmith's shop and pick up the watering can that Ann used to water the plants.

_Why someone needs to upgrade a _watering can _with an ore called _mystrile _is beyond me… Strange people live in this town…_ Pat thought to herself as she passed the Aja Winery, making her unconsciously shudder.

The rain had drenched her by the time she reached the blacksmith's shop, the sound of the pouring rain drowning all out all sound save for the frantic cries of Rick as he gathered the chickens back into the coop.

When she opened the door and stepped inside her eardrums were mercilessly popped by the sound coming from _inside _the shop.

Saibara's face was beet red and spittle flew from his open mouth as he screamed at the young man before him. His words were so loud that the rain seemed like a pin drop.

"You little idiot!" Saibara bellowed, a vein throbbing dangerously on his forehead, "You _ruined _the tool! Not only must we now give Ms. Claire yet _another _axe but give it to her _free of charge!_"

"It wasn't my fault, you old bastard!" the young man bellowed just as loudly, "Mary dropped by with an order and I left the damn axe in the fire too long! Shoot me!"

Saibara brought both fists down on the counter, normally shut eyes opening narrowly. "I absolutely forbid you from seeing that girl anymore! She's interfering in your work! This is the third time you screw up on a simple upgrade!"

The young man slammed both fists down on the counter as well; face just a few inches from Saibara. "Screw you! I can do whatever the hell I want!"

"Not as long as you live off _my _generosity! Eat off _my _money! Not as long as you work for _me, boy!_"

The young man seemed to seethe at this remark. "How many times do I have to tell you before I can drill it into that senile brain of yours!? It's Gray! _Gray!_ G-R-A-Y! Your grandson you good for nothing son of a-,"

"Excuse me!" Pat bellowed, tired of all the fighting. She'd left her parents' house the first time to avoid fights like this; fights that could easily turn into something more.

Both men wheeled around at the sound of her voice. Saibara's face paled at seeing her there, the vein retreating beneath the skin that kept it hidden, shoulders sagging.

Gray, however, seemed to only get angrier. The fury in his eyes was pointed at _her _now, and the hat with the letters 'UMA' could only shadow his eyes.

"What do you want!?" he demanded, making Pat unconsciously take a step back, "If you're not a customer then get the hell out!" but no, he didn't stop there; his fury had already seeped into his mind, blurring his vision and weakening his inhibitions, "You flat-chested, homely slut!"

Saibara wheeled on the boy, bringing his hand up and then bringing it back down with great force across Gray's face. "Watch your mouth boy! She's a paying customer and I'll have you treat her with the utmost respect! Do you hear me!?"

Pat blinked as they resumed their fighting anew, not totally comprehending what this _stranger_ had said to her.

She wasn't… pretty. Never had been. She'd never been endowed like many other women had… What Gray said was true; she wasn't as pretty as Claire, or Ann, or Popuri, or Elli or even Mary.

But she was _most definitely not a slut._

Something inside Pat snapped, and she ran at Gray, and as he wheeled around to face her, her 'homely' hand made contact with his cheek; much harder and much faster than Saibara's had been.

For the first few seconds afterward as the sound of the slap resonated throughout the room, everything was silent. Gray's jaw hung open uselessly in shock and disbelief, Saibara was in the same state, but Pat's eyes were alive with fury, and the sound of another slap resonated throughout the room when she brought her hand down on him again; harder and quicker than the last time too.

"_You idiotic pig!" _Pat practically screamed, bringing her hand down across his face a third time, "_How _dare _you!?_" a fourth slap, Gray recoiled, "_I'm glad you can never see Mary again!" _a fifth, Gray actually cried out, "_I actually thought she was too good for you!_" a sixth, Saibara was still transfixed on the events, "_But _she's _too good for _you_!" _slap, slap, "_You don't even need a couple of beers!" _slap, slap, slap, the man before her wasn't Gray; it was her father; looking down at her after he had backhanded her, sending her to her knees, "_You'd beat both Mary and your kids to a pulp!_" she saw him do the same to Damian; her eyes clouded with tears, Pat drew her hand back, _"You don't deserve to live you monster!"_

Pat's hand sped towards Gray…

A strong hand grabbed her mid-swing; throwing her off-balance. In her fury she wheeled around, fully intending to bring the next man down too…

Saibara was staring at her levelly, face nor laughing nor screaming nor grumping; it was pitiful; pitiful and understanding.

Pat stopped, she saw clearly now.

Saibara let go and she pulled her arm back, backing away in embarrassment and in horror. She shot one more glance at the blacksmith's shop. Saibara was staring at her, Gray on his knees on the floor, face already red, staring off into space in shock.

Pat ran out of the shop and into the pursing rain, not knowing if the droplets streaming down her cheeks were the rain or her tears.

She… she was just like _him…_

_She _didn't even need alcohol to get started.

She was just as much a monster as she was…

For the first time in a long time Pat was terrified; not of alcohol or her father or anything else; she was afraid of herself; afraid that one day she might just slap Damian as she had Gray…

Seeing Damian's terrified face when she discovered the bruises flashed back to her; only now it was Carter discovering them…

And that's what terrified her the most; that one day that just might happen.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oohh... Expecting that? I'll answer anything and explain this course of action next chapter! Once again, read and review (that wasn't really Pat x Gray but Pat vs. Gray... The next few chapters will have Pat x Gray! Don't worry!) Have a nice day!


	5. The Eyes of a Child

Sorry for not udating is so long... My internet service went down and I only got it back yesterday... I toiled away yesterday with updates for 'The Foreigner' and 'Where the Heart Is' and today I return with updates for both! YAY!

If you're not reading 'The Foreigner' too then you haven't read this yet: I'll be adopting the replying to reviews individually, so you may not see me replying here anymore depending on how that goes... Anonymous reviewers will get their replies starting next update on the chapter.

Anyway, I promised an explanation for my 'Pat attacks Gray' thingie.

Well... Gray was mad at Saibara beacuse of that, hence the cursing. He _is not _like that all the time. I wanted to pit Pat and Gray against each other once; just to show how their personailities can be abrasive when they're both fuming.

On a lighter note, there is some _positive _Pat x Gray interaction in this chapter. Nothing too big though...

Anyway, this chapter is rather short, the next will be longer and maybe reveal some Pat and Damian childhood stories complete with Damian tantrum!

Anyway, enjoy! R&R!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Four: The Eyes of a Child

News got around fast in Mineral Town.

The next morning everyone already knew that the previous night Gray had stumbled into the Clinic with two black eyes and red, swollen cheeks.

Normally the town would come to the conclusion that Saibara and Gray's fight had gotten out of hand… but…

Rick had seen Pat walk into the shop and five minutes later run out. He told Lillia who called Sasha who called Anna who called Manna… and anyone who lived in Mineral Town knew that Manna was the slanderous Mistress of Gossip.

Manna had drawn to conclusions and spread the rumor that 'that new girl' had been seeing Gray on the side while he was dating Mary; hence Gray's unexplained absences at Mary's Library. But Gray had soon come to his senses and decided that he loved Mary and the night he told Pat that he couldn't see her anymore she would not accept it.

The monster had beaten Gray to a pulp but Gray; being the gentleman that he was, did not strike back; he was too well-mannered to strike a woman. It wasn't until the 'new girl' was satisfied that she ran away when Saibara threatened to call Harris.

That was the most popular version, anyway…

Lying on her bed three days later Pat couldn't help but marvel at how close to the truth it actually was.

She had been the one who had done that to Gray; nothing else mattered.

She was a monster.

No matter what excuses her mind came up with: 'He insulted you,' 'He deserved it,' she could not accept them. No one deserved what she had done; no matter whom they were.

It was a just punishment that the penalty be this…

The town hated her now…

Mary had gone out of her way to make her life more of a living hell than usual, Ann, Popuri and Claire had stopped inviting her to the bar while they were there, Doug looked at her coldly when he gave her a job; never too close to the blacksmith's or Mary's… and Damian had asked her if it was true of what the town was saying about her.

She'd said that yes; she'd hit him.

Damian had distanced himself from her since that confession.

And now; on spring 23rd, she lay on her bed on a perfect spring day.

A knock at the door woke her from her trance. Getting up warily; she walked over to the door and opened it; revealing a very flustered looking Gray outside it.

"Wh-what do you want?" Pat demanded, starting to close the door.

Gray seemed to struggle with words; but when he finally spoke, Pat ceased in closing the door. "I… apologize…" he muttered.

Pat blinked. "Did your grandfather make you say that?" she asked coldly.

Gray shook his head, looking down at his shoes. "No. I… deserved that. Sorry that I called you that stuff… You aren't any of them."

Pat fidgeted, for some reason feeling very self conscious all of a sudden. "N-no… Most of what you said was pretty true… I-I… I should be apologizing… I hurt you really badly."

Gray shook his head. "It isn't your fault-,"

"It is," Pat cut in.

Sighing, Gray stepped backward. "Fair enough," he conceded, "I already leaked to Manna about the stuff I said so… the rumors should shift their heat on me…"

Pat nodded from behind the doorway. "Fair enough."

"Well… bye…" Gray mumbled, turning to walk back to his room.

"This doesn't change anything between us!" Pat yelled after him, "You're still a jerk! A stupid, shallow jerk! And I still hate you for it!"

Gray stopped, and Pat swore she could've seen the side of his lips twitch. "Fair enough…"

"Fair enough," Pat agreed as Gray stepped into his room, leaving her alone once more.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gray had been right; the rumors had in fact quieted down after their apologies.

Now the rumors told that Gray had called 'that poor new girl' vulgar obscenities; and it had only been to stop him that she had resorted to such force. Gray was the source of the ridicule now; in fact, only Mary stood beside him.

The town was beginning to open back up to Pat, but in truth she couldn't care less.

The only person's opinion she valued was the boy with who she shared her life and her room.

It was with this in mind that Pat was staring across the room at her little brother who stared back at her from his bed. Taking in a deep breath, Pat began. "I… I hit Gray. Forget the fact that he called my names and that he 'deserved it'. No one deserves that, Damian… I'm… sorry for what I did," Pat tried to swallow the huge lump in her throat, "I… I promise that I will never hit you… if I ever do… I'd die inside… and so would you… I… love you, Damian… I took you away because I love you and I'm doing this because I love you," tears flooded Pat's eyes, making it hard to see Damian's expression, "I'm sorry… I pr-promise never to hurt you or let anyone hurt you ever again…"

Damian did not reply. The moments in which Pat waited were the most excruciating she had ever endured.

What if he didn't believe her? What if their relationship was irreparably damaged? What if she lost the only person she loved?

These questions echoed endlessly in her mind, and she closed her eyes, hoping to block it out. A sob escaped her lips when she failed to do so, and her shoulders shuddered as she covered her face, not wanting to show weakness in front of her little brother.

Two skinny arms wrapped around her, and Pat opened her eyes in shock. Damian was hugging her… "Don't cry, Patty…" Damian cooed soothingly, voice filled with concern, "I-it's okay… its okay…"

The questions stopped, but for some reason Pat could not stop crying. She not only cried for the fear of losing him now; but out of joy. She _hadn't _lost him; he'd forgiven her.

And if Pat had any doubts about that, all she had to do was look in her brother's eyes, gaze into the eternal love of a child's eyes.

For the first time in an eternity, Pat felt strangely at home. She cried for that too.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Short... some of you may consider that crying bout a bit OOC for Pat.

I wanted to show that the she's human; no one's that strong. She's barely started life and has gotten it warped before her very eyes, in seconds! She needed that crying fit because... she's human!

Anyway, like I promised next update will be longer! R&R... please, I do love them!


	6. Reminiscences

Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know it took me forever to update... I have no excuse. Forgive me?

Anyway, this chapter has Pat's backstory; her parents' jobs, how she grew up, etc...

Also, I'm uploading a new fic 'Of Love and Faith'. It's another Gray fic (YAY!) that tells of how Gray became his bitter self before coming to Mineral Town. Sad ending... I cry just thinking about it...

Anyway, enjoy!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Five: Reminiscences

"I hate this!" Damian yelled, little arms crossed against his chest, "There's only _four channels! _What kind of place only has four channels!? Not only that but all the shows suck! They're about _farming!_ Only _Claire _watches those channels 'cause she's a _farmer_! This sucks! I want Comcast, DirecTV… something that isn't about _farming_!"

Damian finished his rant and fell onto his bed, a look of pure boredom on his face.

It was raining; meaning that he couldn't go out to play with Stu and May. It also meant that Pat was off work since she was sick from the _last time _she got poured on.

Pat blew into a tissue, wincing as her irritated nose brushed against the material. "Are you sure Carter can't come and pick you up?" Pat asked hopefully.

Damian sighed in exasperation. "I already told you; I already called May and she said that her grandpa won't let her out and Stu can't leave because stupid Elli punished him! It's not fair…"

Pat looked at the yellow mucus in her tissue in disgust and folded it, throwing it into the already full trash can. "Let me tell ya, kid, life isn't fair…"

Thankfully, Damian chose not to talk anymore. Unfortunately he began to pace back and forth, kicking the air and occasionally making sounds, annoying the hell out of his sick sister.

"Can you not do that?" Pat snapped, what she said not as mean as she had intended as she sneezed mid sentence, spraying mucus on the bed sheets.

Damian laughed but after getting a venomous look from Pat he muffled it with a cough. "But I'm bored…"

Pat sighed and pushed herself out of bed. She walked over to her closet and pulled out a worn paperback novel from it. She handed it to Damian and returned to bed.

Damian made a disgusted face. "Pride… and Prejudice? What the heck is this?" he asked, and then threw the book on the bed, "I hate books…"

Pat guffawed playfully and tossed the book back at Damian. "Have you ever read a book in your life, computer nerd?"

Damian made a face and inspected the book carefully. "Mommy used to read to me… you and Grammy too…"

"See," Pat said, fluffing her pillow before dropping her weary head on it unceremoniously, "That's exactly what I mean. You've been read _to _but have never read _yourself. _Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is an excellent book; it's a bit confusing, but you're a smart kid," Damian smiled at that, "You'll get it."

Damian plopped down in bed next to her. "What's it about?"

Pat's eyes; formerly glazed over with the troubles of sickness, were enflamed in a new light. "It's about this young woman named Elizabeth who's poor. Her mom's a total gold-digger who wants her to get married-,"

"So she's a spinster?" Damian interrupted, but not before adding, "Like you?"

Pat hit him over the head but he kept snickering. When he quieted down she continued. "No; she's twenty… Anyway, she doesn't plan on marrying until she meets Mr. Darcy; a very rich man who appears to be very arrogant. Although they hate each other at the beginning; they both find they have feelings for one another… But they're from two different worlds and they're prideful and prejudiced."

Damian crossed his arms, a thoughtful expression on his face. "You mean the rich guy is a racist against the poor girl who has too much pride to date him?"

"No. Racism is when someone discriminates against another race; you learned about the Civil Rights Movement in class, right?" Damian nodded, "Racism isn't the word…" Pat got an evil gleam in her eye, "You'll have to read it to find out…"

Damian pouted and ran over to his bed and began to read.

Surprisingly, he did not speak for the whole day. When Pat called for bed he only complained about not being able to finish the chapter.

It seemed as if he was entranced in Jane Austen's creation; too busy reading to complain about the circumstances they were in. He was so drawn in by the book; that when May and Stu came calling he said he couldn't go playing that day…

Pat was both impressed and surprised. She never thought Damian was the 'reading type'. He always preferred playing video games and watching cartoons then ever cracking open a book.

Well, Pat _was _a Comparative Literature major and an authoress… Did it run in the blood?

The day later Pat was recovering from her cold. After returning from her trip to the bathroom she met Damian in their room, smiling from ear to ear. "What did you do?" Pat asked, too tired to deal with another one of his practical jokes.

"No-thing…" he said with a smile, "I finished the bo-ok…"

Pat blinked in surprise. "You what?"

"I finished Pride and Prejudice," Damian repeated, "It has a nice ending… I liked it…"

"It took me two _weeks _to finish that book!" Pat exclaimed, "You couldn't possibly have-,"

And with that Damian recounted the tale, and Pat listened to him, slack-jawed, as he repeated every detail; some of them things even she had not remembered. How could he have read it so fast? Did he look it up on the internet…?

No internet in Mineral Town…

Did he ask someone who already read it about it?

Impossible, the only person who read in this town was Mary; and Damian knew full well of the hostility between her and his sister.

Had he really read the book?

"I wanna go to the Library tomorrow!" Damian exclaimed after finishing the ending with a 'and they lived happily ever after', "I want another book!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, Pat had tried to dissuade Damian from his decision.

Yes, she'd failed.

And that's why she was standing in the doorway of Mary's Library and being stared at by Mary herself.

The place was smaller than she'd imagined. There was a front desk, a small reading table with a couple of chairs neatly pushed in, and a lot of bookshelves that only diminished the room's size even more. To her right was a spiral staircase. It was pleasantly cool in the library, especially since the late spring heat was pounding outside…

"What do _you _want?" Mary asked her, looking up from a very thick tome, pushing at her glasses.

"My brother wants to check out a book…" Pat said coldly, trying to hide the fury that was already boiling up from inside her.

Like when she and her father were in a room together, the tension was mounting dangerously. In fact, if this was one of those animes Damian watches, Pat thought, there would be lighting crackling out of our eyes…

Damian interrupted and sprinted up the stairs. A few seconds later cries of joy could be heard emanating down from there.

Pat and Mary stayed in the same position for about five minutes. "Get a letter back from your publisher yet?" Pat asked, eyes narrow slits.

Mary blanched. "N-no…"

Pat smirked in victory, but Mary wasn't fazed in the least. She opened her mouth to speak again when the door opened and Gray stood in the doorway, the brim of his hat covering his eyes.

"Mary we need to talk-," he paused when his eyes fell on Pat, "What are _you _doing here?"

It wasn't spoken like how Mary had said it; full of contempt and hatred. Instead it sounded shocked. Pat was shocked she'd come in this place too.

"My brother wanted to check out a book…" Pat said, wishing that Damian would hurry the hell-

"I'm back!" Damian exclaimed, holding a familiar hardcover in his grasp. He was holding 'Sense and Sensibility', also by Jane Austen, close to his chest.

Mary sniffed arrogantly and yanked the book away from Damian, who wailed in protest. "This is a tad too difficult for you, little kid… I don't have a kids' section so-,"

"My brother wants that book!" Pat snapped, spots of anger clouding her vision, "You'll give him what he wants!"

"I own this library!" Mary snapped back, "I reserve the right to say who gets my books or not!" she turned her angry glare to Damian, "He seems like an untrustworthy person to lend a book to. I don't think that he'd take good care of that book."

"But I-," Damian whined.

"Why you-," Pat began furiously.

"_Mary!_" Gray snapped, and the room fell silent, all parties turning to look at him, "I need to talk to you _now_," his gaze softened when he looked at Pat and Damian, "In private, please."

Mary nodded and Pat took Damian's hand and led him out of the library, avoiding eye contact with both Mary and Gray.

Well, at least Damian got his book…

The day after, the whole town was buzzing with the latest gossip.

Gray had broken up with Mary.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I actually feel bad for her," Claire said, looking down at her glass of wine nonchalantly, "She's a real witch-with-a-b, but she didn't deserve to be dumped."

Claire, Popuri, Ann and Pat were all sitting at the empty bar that night. Claire and Ann drank some wine while Pat and Popuri settled for milk. The mood was somber without Doug and Karen in the bar; Doug wasn't even there.

Business had been so slow that week that he'd taken the week off and left Ann in charge. It was a little past nine, meaning that Damian was already in bed; leaving Pat a free woman.

She ate some of her cheesecake Ann had served her and her eyes rolled backwards in her head; Doug's cheesecake was the best she'd ever eaten. Could it be the small town factor?

"I kinda feel bad for her too," Popuri confessed, playing with the remains of her slice of apple pie, "If Kai ever broke up with _me _I think I'd die…"

Ann sighed and plopped herself down in the bar stool, wiping at her forehead with a napkin. "Lucky you. You have a boyfriend…"

Claire looked at Ann quizzically. "What about Cliff, Ann?"

"Yeah," Popuri added, "I thought you two were together."

"You _did _go to the Starry Night Festival together…" Claire chimed in a sing-song manner, winking at Ann at the end of her sentence.

Ann sighed again; only deeper and more exhaustedly. "It's… complicated…"

"Everything in life is…" Pat muttered just loud enough for the others to hear. They nodded in agreement at that.

"Can we change the subject?" Ann asked.

"Sure," Claire agreed, and Popuri nodded in agreement, "Hey Pat," Pat looked back as she stuck another forkful of cheesecake in her mouth, "You never did tell us where you came from…"

Pat blanched; the others didn't seem to notice.

Having a nice chat about her childhood was definitely something Pat _didn't _want to do. While these girls milked cows and went to Festivals she nursed bruises and learned how best to avoid a drunk.

Definitely something she'd much rather avoid…

"It's really not that interesting…" Pat began.

"Oh c'mon!" Popuri insisted, the others backing her by nodding, "How could life in the big city be boring!?"

"Yeah," Ann added cheerfully, "You must've gone to movies and gone out on dates and gone shopping at those…?"

"Malls," Claire filled in for her.

"Right, malls!" Ann added to her own sentence quickly.

They persisted for about fifteen minutes when Pat gave in. She swallowed the lump in her throat and spoke, looking down at her hands as she did so. "I was born in Fort Bennet, North Carolina. My father was an army colonel, my mother the heiress to an oil company," the room was silent; Pat's stomach was in knots, "His high position in the army caused him to move around a lot, so I never really settled down…

"I didn't have many friends, didn't stay there in one place long enough to make any, never really went shopping much, didn't go to the movies…" Pat chuckled despite herself, "I actually did learn how to serve alcohol before I was seven. An army daughter does need to have her graces, right?

"When I was ten," she continued despite the astonished looks on the other girls' faces, "My mother became pregnant," Pat smiled genuinely, lost in the memory, "She gave birth to a beautiful baby boy they named Damian," Pat laughed, "He was the weirdest thing I'd ever seen; so small and frail, a mess of the brightest blonde hair I'd ever seen on his tiny head, beautiful eyes that looked at me in curiosity…"

She paused, the smile still vivid on her face. "The day they brought him home from the hospital I decided from then and there that I'd always be at his side when he needed me; no matter what…" Pat's smile broke, receding into the usual distanced look she wore like a mask, "I got straight A's in school… It was one of the only things my parents complimented me on. When I started high school my father retired from military service and we moved out of the country where my mother had a nice_, perfect, suburban house ready…_" she spat out every word.

"I graduated valedictorian at my school and got accepted to Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia… you name it… I chose Yale because I wanted to major in Literature and write books, maybe teach some college myself when I was older. I left for the States; happy to escape…"

She stopped there.

"Then how'd you and Damian get here?" Claire asked, breaking the silence.

Pat's face remained emotionless. "My parents were no longer fit to take care of Damian so I took custody of him…" she answered simply. It wasn't a lie; in fact, it was very close to the truth.

Everything she'd said was the truth.She'd just left out the parts she would rather not have them learn.

Not lying.

Pat sighed and stuck the last forkful of cheesecake in her mouth then washed it down with a gulp of milk. It tasted bitter.

She'd never told anyone this much about her past before…

It loosened a tight spot that had lingered on her chest for ages, but there was still tightness around her heart. If it was up to Pat, that tightness would remain there until the days she died.

Not in the mood for anymore questions, Pat excused herself for bed, making the excuse that she was exhausted from work. Claire and Popuri took that as their cue to take their leave as well, and Ann yawned and retreated to her room.

Pat did the same, and as she lay herself down to sleep she hot one last look at her baby brother. She smiled the same smile that had appeared on her face while she spoke of him. "You're still as cute as you were then…" she murmured into the darkness, "I'll always keep my promise…"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, there you go...

Next chappie is going to be good... that's all I can say. I'll update on Tuesday! See ya! R&R!


	7. The Outing

I think that this is going to be a filler... you decide.

Enjoy!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Six: The Outing

The Gossip Queens buzzed about the Gray/Mary breakup, making up cruel and outrageous rumors about its cause.

Mary had retreated into her library; seldom leaving it. She'd taken residence with the only ones who understood her; her books.

She refused to open it up to the townspeople; who were surprisingly unfazed by the lack of Mineral Town's library and now eligible bachelorette.

Once Damian finished 'Sense and Sensibility' (two days after he checked it out) he couldn't return it or check out any other books, so he'd been stuck in perpetual boredom once again.

His rants resumed that same day.

It was a nice summer day; not too hot.

The perfect day for going out and having fun.

This was exactly why Pat was dragging Damian out to the beach; where May and Stu were already waiting for him.

"But I don't _feel _like it…" Damian whined.

Pat, who was carrying a beach towel, sunscreen and 'Pride and Prejudice', just sighed. "You haven't played with your friends in over a week… You need to start doing that again before you become a grumpy old man that doesn't have any friends. Like Saibara!" she added the last bit just to annoy him; Damian wasn't too fond of the elderly blacksmith.

Damian pouted and resigned himself to his older sister's demands. He'd finally learned that it was no use; Pat would always find a way of making him do something is she really wanted to.

The beach was beautiful that day. The golden sand was shining brightly, reminding Pat of gold. The waves crashed against the shore gently, easing her worries about having to look up every five seconds to make sure Damian hadn't drowned.

May and Stu were already there, and they ran over to meet them. They were both in their bathing suits already, dripping wet with salty water.

"Hi Damian!" Stu said with his trademark smile that could light up any room.

"Hi Damian!" May said later, smiling the same way at him.

For some reason, Damian turned a nice shade of pink at seeing May. Quirking and eyebrow and nudging Damian a little with her elbow, Pat turned her attention to the group while she applied a bit of sunscreen to an impatient Damian who looked at her with venomous eyes. "Play nice guys; no horse playing or going in too deep. Okay?"

The kids cried out their 'Yes!' with boundless energy and scurried off to the ocean, laughing merrily as they did so.

Pat sighed; a happy sigh, one of contentment, and settled down one of the umbrellas, opening her book to the ending; her favorite part.

The laughter of the children filled the beach. Occasionally Pat would look up from her book and yell out a warning. Others she'd just smile and continue reading. Once in a while she'd walk over to the Snack Shack and get herself something to cool off.

Pat had already met Kai; Popuri's boyfriend on the first day of summer when he knocked at her door and introduced himself, Popuri beaming at her on his arm. He seemed nice enough. He'd taken up residence with Gray and Cliff next door to Pat.

She was sipping lemonade and enjoying a nice part of the book when Damian's voice called out to her from the water. "Come play with us, Pat!"

She did so; being a mother also meant making time for your kids. Even though she didn't want to get wet, she did. Damian was a kid; he needed to see the playful side of her sometimes…

Pat took up the role of 'the monster' while the others were her victims who were trying to escape her evil. May was called 'Queen-Princess Flower Lily-Tulip', Stu was called 'Super Batman' and Damian had dubbed himself 'G.I. Transformer-Man'… Leave it to kids to make up the weirdest names…

She spent the next hour or so role playing, entering splashing fights and playing tag with the kids.

After that they were so pooped it was all they could do to drag themselves over to the Snack Shack to fill their empty bellies.

Kai treated them to two large pizzas. He and Popuri joined them, laughing and conversing with them as they ate their pizzas, relating to the kids' childish and outrageous stories with ease.

It seemed that they were young at heart.

When Pat tried to pay Kai rejected and said 'First-timers here eat free; plus friends of Poppy are always treated.'

An hour and a few snow cones later, Pat sat on a beach towel, watching the sunset. The kids were asleep; totally spent from the day's fun. Elli and Barley would thank her greatly when she walked them home.

She wore a white tank top and black shorts over her one piece bathing suit. Her hair; still wet, stuck to her top, the salt mixed in with the water hardening it a bit. She'd gotten a little tan; complimenting her sun kissed blonde hair.

Sighing, she dug her toes in the sand, allowing each toe to mingle with each grain, savoring the tickling sensation she got from it.

The sun cast a beautiful medley of purple and orange over the sky, casting a nice reflection of it over the clearest ocean Pat had ever seen.

Despite everything, Pat still wished someone would be here at her side, holding her close and whispering words of love into her ear.

Maybe it was all the novels Pat read, but she'd always wished for her knight is shining armor to appear and sweep her off her feet. When she was a little girl, she would often fantasize about a man that would save her from her father and take her away. They'd fall in love, get married, have children…

He never came.

Pat was a twenty-one year old errand girl with an associate's degree in Comparative Literature. Most people her age would be looking forward to the things she'd described, but Pat was starting to doubt they existed.

When she was a teenager, she thought she would be ready to just jump into womanhood. She thought every boy she dated had the possibility of being 'the one'. By forcing her high expectations on them, she'd done nothing but chase them away.

Admittedly, the want to become an adult was so that she could escape her parents, but she really did expect her Prince Charming to appear on a stallion at her doorstep, using his sword to repel the monsters like her father…

And now she had no one.

She was alone while others her age weren't.

Look at Popuri and Kai; more or less her age and already considering marriage while she just wasted away.

Sighing in resignation, Pat watched the last of the orangish lights fade from view, leaving the beach only dimly lit by the lights of Rose Square and by those of Zach's house.

She walked over to the children, ready to nudge them gently to wake them…

"Hi," someone said simply.

Pat turned around. Gray.

Gray looked the same as always; emotionless and reserved from under the brim on his 'UMA' hat. His blue eyes looked into Pat's, making her uneasy for some reason.

"Hi yourself," Pat replied.

Gray seemed to look her over, then stepped closer to her. "Took your brother out for a day of fun? That's nice… I guess…"

"You guess?"

Gray put up both arms defensively. "I'm sure it was really nice," he said nervously.

Pat laughed and Gray sighed in relief that she hadn't been offended by his words. "It was nice, thank you," she said, feeling more relaxed and open for some reason…

"Great…" Gray said.

"Yeah," Pat said.

They stood in silence for about another minute or so. Damian stirred and the spell was broken. "Hey, sleepyhead…" Pat said to him with a smile, "Ready to go home?"

"Yeah…" he murmured sleepily, rubbing his eyes with little fists.

Stu and May then proceeded to stir as well, and Pat led them all towards Rose Square, saying bye to Gray.

"Need help?" he called, looking at her hands full of May's, Stu's, Damian's and her stuff.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

May and Stu had been taken back home safely. Damian was tucked in. Pat stood outside her closed door, looking at Gray.

"Thanks for the help…" she said tiredly.

"No prob," came Gray's response, "Any time…"

Pat smiled and reached for the knob… "Wait," Gray said, making her freeze.

"What?" she asked, irritated. She was way too tired to deal with him at the time. All she wanted to do was get back into the room and sleep.

Gray shuffled his feet and avoided eye contact. "I was wondering if you'd like to-,"

"You mean a _date?_" Pat asked him incredulously, interrupting him.

Gray looked down at the floor. "Something like that…"

For a second; there was complete and utter silence in the hallway. After that second passed, it was disrupted by Pat's response. "No,"

Gray seemed to shrink a few inches. "W-why?"

"You're on the rebound," Pat replied simply, "Plus you're not my type."

"Then what is your type?" Gray asked her, raising his voice.

"Someone who doesn't insult someone he just met, for starters," Pat said coolly, voice rising too.

"I apologized!" Gray exclaimed.

"And I said nothing changed between us!" Pat screamed back.

"Maybe I did mean those things!" Gray retorted, his anger getting the better of him, taking a step closer to Pat.

She didn't back down, instead, she took a step closer as well. "Then read my lips," she snapped, "I. Hate. You."

"Right back at ya!" Gray cried, then snorted, "Guess you're not ready for a boyfriend, huh spinster?"

Pat stood on her toes just to be a little taller than Gray. "At least I didn't get my last boyfriend from Geeks-'R'-Us!" she retorted, eyes flaring.

Gray's eyes flared up too. "At least I had one!"

"At least I'm not depressed!" Pat retorted.

"At least I'm not ugly!" Gray yelled.

Pat slapped him, softer than last time. In fact, it was just a weak one meant to ward him off. He didn't back down.

Pat went for it again but Gray caught her wrist this time. She tried with the other but Gray caught the other one with his free hand. He pinned her against the wall, smirking in victory.

"I win," Gray taunted her.

Pat considered kicking his groin. That usually did the trick. The groin, after all, was one of man's most sensitive spots. Yes, that'd do.

"You lose!" she exclaimed, drawing her foot back.

She blinked. Once, twice… thrice…

This couldn't be happening…

As she had prepared to kick him, Gray had leant down and kissed her on the lips; just like that.

Pat stopped thinking; her brain short-circuited the second Gray's lips met her own. It had been so long since she'd actually kissed someone that she'd forgotten how _nice _it could be even when his lips were stiff on hers.

Gray pulled back a few seconds later, and backed away. "S-sorry…" he said, putting his hands in front of him, "I-I didn't mean th-that… Oh Goddess… Oh God…"

Pat was taking a step forward each time he took a step backward. Finally, she had him pinned against the wall just like he had her pinned to the opposite one seconds before.

Gray closed his eyes tight, waiting for the slaps that were sure to come…

And was instead was met by a pair of soft lips on his own.

It was Gray's turn to blink a few times in surprise. Pat pulled away a few seconds later, the, blushing in mortification, backed away just as Gray had done a few seconds earlier.

"Oh my God… What the hell just came over me…?" she murmured, "I'm _so _sorry…"

"Don't be," Gray said softly, grabbing her wrist.

They stayed in that position for a few minutes, Pat looking into Gray's eyes. It could've been an eternity that they stayed like that to them, but it wasn't until the clock struck nine and the bell rang out.

Gray pulled her close and she made no move to resist. She came right on top of him, hands on his chest, and kissed him as if she'd never kissed anyone before.

Who said you needed alcohol to do things you normally wouldn't?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hehehehehe... Did I trick you? Yes, she gave in to that attraction I haven't written about. More shall be explained next update.

R&R!


	8. Shut Up and Kiss Me, Darn It!

Hey guys... here's the update of 'Where the Heart is' I promised.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Seven: Shut Up and Kiss Me, Darn It!

She hated Gray.

His stupid smirk, his stupid hat, his stupid carrot-colored hair, his stupid soft lips… his stupid strong arms… his stupid piercing blue eyes… his stupid irresistible smile…

Pat shook herself briskly and turned her attention back to the flowers she was supposed to be watering. She cursed and redirected the hoes from the garden which was overflowing with mud already, the flowers starting to droop.

Why did Gray have to be so darn _hot_?

When the heck did she start thinking that Gray was hot?

It was somewhere between the pinning her to the wall and making out with him in the hallway of the Inn.

Yep.

Now she was feeling like a love struck, hormone addled teenager. She was spacing out every five minutes, thinking about Gray and other things that involved Gray. Like what the heck that hat meant, or if Gray worked out…

The kissing had ended innocently enough; they heard footsteps and Pat ran into her room; but not before stepping on Gray's instep; hard, causing him to cry out in agony.

And she'd avoided him ever since; which is pretty hard to do when you live in the same Inn; so it was normal that they'd see each other… prompting Pat to make out with him _again._

It was like she had no control of her body whenever she saw him, and it just acted on its own and basically jumped on him. That lasted until her synapses started firing again or someone interrupted them; causing her to cause Gray some sort of physical pain and run away before someone saw them.

Needless to say, Damian was suspicious whenever Pat ran into the room; her hair a mess, eyes wild, breathing hard.

So was everyone else that saw her in that state.

She turned the water handle and threw the hose into the Inn's garden unceremoniously, running a hand through her hair with a sigh.

Thank God Gray worked a lot; she usually didn't see him until evening.

"Pat?"

She turned around…

Damn it! Gray!

The familiar feeling of being forced into the backseat of her own body by desire washed over her. Goosebumps covered her skin as she fought for control, sending shivers down her spine.

"I-I thought y-you w-were w-working…" Pat said uselessly, knowing it was only a few seconds until she lost all control.

"Grandpa threw me out," he explained.

Pat started forward, but to her surprise Gray held her back with those stupid strong arms of his. "We need to talk," he said, voice sounding a bit strangled.

"N-now…?" asked a just as strangled Pat.

"Y-yes…"

Relieved for Gray's sudden growth of consciousness, Pat reluctantly followed him into the mercifully empty inn. They took a seat at a secluded table in the corner where they could easily hide if anyone walked into the inn while they were 'talking'.

They sat in hushed, strange silence. Usually, there was no talking… there was just… kissing… well, and touching, and pain when Pat ran away…

Yes, this was most definitely awkward…

Gray cleared his throat and Pat jumped. She looked at Gray expectantly as he opened his mouth and closed it.

For the first time in her life, Pat found herself wishing that she had a drink. But the thought was gone as quickly as it had come, and she reprimanded herself for thinking that way.

"We can't keep doing this," Gray blurted, making Pat jump again.

"Okay," Pat said simply, shuffling her feet a little bit under that table, "…Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

"Yeah," Gray said, then stood up and walked towards the door and went out without looking back.

Pat looked down into her folded hands and sighed; there went her only shot at anything close to romance…

Two seconds passed before the door slammed open. Pat looked up Gray was looking at her, his arctic eyes hidden by the brim of his hat. "What is it?" Pat asked nervously, hoping that the hope in her voice hadn't shown through.

"You know…" Gray began, twiddling his thumbs nervously, "We _could _keep doing this is we were to… you know, get together…"

Pat shook her head, amazed and screaming at herself as she did it. "I already told you; you aren't my type and you're on the rebound."

Gray looked crestfallen, but unlike the last time, he said nothing and just left without saying a thing. Pat mentally slapped herself for saying that… she should go after him! Why was she so stupid? Couldn't she recognize a good man when she saw-,

The door slammed open again, louder this time. Gray stood there again, breathing hard. "You know what?" he breathed in between huge gulps of air, "We don't need to be together…"

"Really?" Pat asked, the excitement barely concealed in her voice.

Gray moved closer, Pat stood up. "Really," Gray said breathlessly, "We can be… friends… with benefits…"

"That's alright with me…" Pat said as Gray stood inches away from her.

The seemed to crackle with static as they just stared at each other. When Gray finally swooped in, the tension exploded.

_Pure electricity._

Pat's skin tingled with an inexplicable current that ran through her whenever she and Gray's skin made contact. It was the best damn feeling; all the little hairs on her arms stood up, her eyes snapped shut…

When their lips finally met, the current turned to a maelstrom, sending what felt like millions of volts of electricity through her body. She arched towards him, let him touch her cheek as she flung both arms around his neck…

They stayed like that for a while, indulging in the pure electricity that flowed through both of them, making every neuron go erratically crazy with an overload of sensation.

Pat really didn't know or care how they ended up in her room. All she knew was that she was there. With Gray. That was all that mattered.

She grabbed Gray's hat and tossed the silly thing away, running her hands through his soft carrot hair. "Why the hell do you wear a hat?" she asked him breathlessly as she unbuttoned that pesky cotton shirt he wore.

Gray didn't answer. Then again, at times like these, questions like that weren't supposed to be answered.

When Pat finally wrestles that unruly shirt off, Gray's hands shot to the hem of her blouse and pulled upward. Pat raised her arms, trying to assist him with that pesky blouse as much as she could… It was _so_ hot in the room suddenly.

Gray almost had the shirt off when the handle to the door turned. Pat froze… suddenly it was _very_ cold in the room.

The door opened, she heard a gasp…

She couldn't see! Gray hadn't taken off that damn blouse! Who was it!? Ann? Doug? Who the hell was it!?

"What the heck are you doing to my sister!?"

Oh crap…

She heard the patter of angry footsteps and Gray yell. There was a thud and another yelp on Gray's part, and Pat wrestled to get the blouse back on.

She finally succeeded… only to see Damian on top of Gray, continuously punching the poor, surprised blacksmith. Pat gasped, screamed: "_Damian!_" and tried to tear her brother off of Gray.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Pat shuddered uncomfortable under the leer of her brother, who sat across from them, on his bed. Gray, having sustained a bloody nose, was looking at his feet beside her, looking beet red and _very_ uncomfortable at the moment.

"What are your… intentions towards my sister?" Damian asked Gray, eying him coldly.

"Damian!" Pat reprimanded him.

"Err… well…" Gray struggled, eyes shooting around the room erratically.

"Do you plan to marry her?" Damian interrupted again, eyes still on Gray, "It's wrong to do what you were planning on doing without being married, you know?"

"Who told you that, Damian!?" Pat snapped, "We're not in Medieval Times! If two adults consent the it's okay-,"

"Mom told me," Damian snapped, looking at his sister disapprovingly, looking much older than his ten years at the moment, "She told me that it's wrong when two people who aren't married do the things that you were about to do."

Pat chewed on her tongue for a while, then bit her lip hard enough to draw blood before replying. "While… it's… certainly better to wait until you're married…" Pat said carefully, ever so mindful of Gray beside her and what this was doing to their friends with benefits relationship, "It's okay to do it… well… when you love that person so much that you're ready to get married." Yeah, Pat told herself approvingly, that sounded good…

Damian's face scrunched up in disgust, his voice took a mocking tone. "Well, do you _love each other?_"

Gray began coughing, hacking really, continuously into his palm. She patted him on the back, but Damian's growl made her retract her arm at look at the wall. A few minutes later, Gray's hacking subsided, his face beet red.

Pat honestly didn't know if it was because of the coughing… or the question.

An even more awkward silence filled the room, and when Damian cleared his throat, Pat and Gray looked up at him in a medley of relief and embarrassment…

"I… think that it's… okay that you," Damian struggled with each word, trying to wrap his innocent ten year old mind around matters that he shouldn't be dealing with until he was… forty! "…date…" she heard Gray stifle a snort; Damian shot him a venomous look, "But none of this…" Damian made a disgusted face, "until you marry her!"

Gray didn't answer until Pat elbowed him hard in the ribs. With a pained expression, Gray nodded. "Sure…"

Damian actually grinned. "Good…" he got a mischievous expression on his face, "Just hurry up and marry her so I can have some nieces and nephews already."

"_Damian!_"

* * *

Pat and Gray were outside in the hallway after the matter with Damian had been… resolved, if it could be called that…

"Well that was…" Gray started, eyes bulging,

"Embarrassing," Pat finished for him, running a hand through the mess that was her hair, "Look… I'm sorry… my brother can be really, really… mature and… _blunt_… he's also really protective of me…"

"I can see that…" Gray snorted, donning his cap again so that it hid his eyes.

"Yeah…" Pat said… well, she was out of things to say.

They stood like that for what seemed like an eternity.

"Look," Pat forced herself to say, "Dating… it's complicated. I… I have to be sure that… that you're over Mary-,"

"I am," Gray said, holding her eyes for the first time since Damian had walked in on them, "I'm sure about that. You have to know that, Pat."

She nodded, not convinced. "Sure, but no matter what you say… when you date someone for _so_ long… Gray, it just… it just doesn't fade away that soon…"

Gray looked downcast, but he grabbed Pat's hand in both of his and looked her straight in the eye. "I can't promise that I've fallen out of love with Mary yet; or if one day the same can happen for us… All I know is that I'm willing to give it a shot, Pat, if you'll let me…"

A whirlwind of thought consumed her; what could she say? Could she really ever love anyone? How would Gray react when he learned of her secret? What would happen if the town found out?

But they were just thoughts, and there was only one emotion that reigned supreme in her heart; longing.

She wanted her shot.

This was it.

Maybe her only one.

"Yes," Pat whispered, "Yes I will go out with you, Gray…"

* * *

I'm sorry I'm not being... uppity today. I just finished The Scarlet Sky's update of 'Drowning in the Tide' and it struck a chord with me, you know?

But enough with my personal problems! I dedicate this chapter to The Scarlet Sky for making me think about the situation I'm in. Thank you Scarlet, for writing...

Please review. You guys know I love it!


	9. Dating is Hard to Do

Hey guys. It's Friday, 'Where the Heart is' update day!!!

So, hope you guys like this update!

* * *

Chapter Nine: Dating is Hard to Do

Dating was hard…

Yes, you had to be sensitive to each other, and put up with each others quotes and practically be a mind reader when you're ready for holding hands, or your first kiss, or when to pop the question…

Yes, Pat knew that these things as so much more made dating hard.

But she remembered dating being so much easier back when she was in college; in the rare event that she ever opened herself up long enough to accept someone and trust them enough to even get to the dating part…

And she knew why it was so hard now…

She and Gray; well, they _were _an item. They had gone out on three dates already, had their 'first kiss' and even shared a shake over lunch one day… but the thing was that they weren't _officially_ an item.

That's right, she and Gray were secret lovers… well, without the 'lovers' part just yet.

If Pat could help it, she would've knocked on Manna's door and screamed it in her ear while she while she wrote every single tidbit down in that little black book of hers.

But the thing was; Gray didn't want to 'hurt Mary's feeling'.

Again, if it were up to Pat, she'd make out with Gray where Mary could stare out from her library tower just to watch the evil librarian squirm…

But, it _wasn't_ up to Pat.

It was up to 'Pay'; the name she'd dubbed 'them' while lying awake in bed one night, thinking of little nothings like what color she'd like to dye her hair if there was a hair salon in Mineral Town.

But… she had to admit, even if Gray was perfectly okay with her standing on Mother's Hill and broadcasting it to the world, Pat… well, she wouldn't do it.

She'd already felt how cruel Mineral Town could be the last time she had done something that had set her apart from the day-to-day events of the town… They'd ridiculed her; Ann, Claire and Popuri would look at her differently, Doug looked like he wanted to fire her, Manna, Anna and Sasha whispered whenever she walked past them…

She hated that; being the talk of the town. She hated how people had acted differently and cruelly… she just hated it…

If word got out that she and Gray were together… well, then the cruel rumors would just be worse than the last time. Their getting together was too close to the Gray-Mary breakup; rumors would surely fly that Gray had broken up with Mary for her.

Not only that, but Pat also wasn't that crazy about making the librarian even more angry at her. Only last week had Mary ventured out of her library; even a tidbit of a rumor that she and Gray were dating would surely throw her over the edge again.

And so it was that even though Pat hated sneaking around with Gray; they always dated while no one was around; where no one could see them. 'Pay' was nothing but a ghost that existed between Gray and Pat; nothing but a secret that died on someone's lips when they were apart…

But that was easier said than done…

Dating in Mineral Town; albeit secretly, was harder than trying to break a World Record these days. The only good places to go on a date were the Inn; which was off limits because there were too many regulars there, the Beach; which was also off limits because of Zack and Won constantly jumping around, and Mother's Hill; the only place that they could actually go on dates because no one was ever around.

But Mother's Hill got boring after the first time, and even though Pat had only dated Gray three times, a part of her was wishing that he'd break up with her already…

But the other part of her; the one that had accepted Gray's offer to go out with him, still wanted to go out on those horribly boring dates with him to Mother's Hill. It was beyond Pat why, and she knew that she most certainly was not desperate, but every time Gray would show up at her door while no one was around and asked her if she could come out she would say yes, without fail.

But Pat knew that she wouldn't keep submitting to that voice forever. One day she would turn Gray down; shortly after that she'd break up with him. If they couldn't act like the relationship was right then it would die.

And yet there was nothing she could do to save it.

Thankfully, that lazy autumn day Saibara had forced Gray to stay at work late to finish making a brooch or something or other, so Pat had time to think. Since classes at the Church had resumed for the fall, Damian was still stuck there with May and Stu, leaving Pat free to do as she pleased.

After finishing the errands Doug had given her for the day, Pat had retreated to her room and had tried writing her novel a bit. Snubbed by writer's block, she gave up after a frustrating hour and decided to visit someone.

Claire sounded like a good idea; the farmer was from the city like her, she was trustworthy; she hated Manna, gossip and more importantly Mary… she could be trusted with her secret, right?

In truth, Pat really didn't care if Claire told or not. The secret couldn't stay between her and Gray and Damian anymore. She needed to tell someone, anyone. It was killing her, keeping that damn secret within herself, to herself.

Whether it was defiance that drove her Pat didn't know, but five minutes later she found herself on Claire's farm.

It was a nice farm; it was small, but nice.

Claire had constructed a makeshift fence made of stones to keep her livestock in. Cows, sheep, chicken and a beautiful stallion grazed in the vibrant green grass while Claire, looking like the classic farmer, watered her crops.

When the blonde looked up from her work and saw Pat, she beamed at her, jumped over the fence and walked over to her. "Hey, Pat," she said energetically, taking off the dirty gardening gloves she wore on her hands, "This is a nice surprise!" unlike others that said this, Claire meant it.

"Can we talk?" Pat asked her, digging her hands in her jeans pockets.

"Sure," Claire said, nodding, "Why don't you come inside?"

Claire's house was spacious but lonely. A little floppy-eared dog greeted them when they entered, and Claire gingerly rubbed his back when he ran at her, barking excitedly.

"Can I get you anything to drink? To eat?" Claire asked, making her way to the impressive kitchen, "I'm making myself some lunch, so don't hesitate to ask me anything, okay?"

Pat ended up accepting Claire's offer to eat something. Claire, looking positively delighted at having someone to cook for besides that bottomless pit Gourmet during the Cooking Festival, hummed contentedly as she whipped up their lunch.

Pat sat in silence at Claire's nice wooden table until Claire served their lunch; grilled salmon and some spaghetti. She was no Doug or Ann, but Claire's lunch was great. Pat savored every bite, nodding when Claire asked her if it was good. They made small talk until they had both finished, and when Pat forked the last bite of salmon and swallowed it, Claire cut to the chase.

"So, what's up?" the blonde asked her.

Taking in a deep breath, Pat told her everything. Starting from her first meeting with Gray at the smithy to their last date. All through her long explanation, Claire remained silent, no emotion whatsoever on her pretty face.

When she finished, Pat exhaled and sat back; feeling as the weight that had been crushing her ebbed away.

Claire cleared her throat and met Pat's eyes. "I'm happy for you, Pat," she said, eyes sad, "I really am… But you've got to be careful here; this isn't the city."

"I know that," Pat said irritably, wrinkling the dirty napkin in her lap.

"Do you really?" Claire asked, taking a sip of her juice, "I thought I did too when I got her a few years back, but man was I wrong…" Pat looked at her interestedly, Claire elaborated, "As you know, anything out of the ordinary becomes headline news here. Even though it's horrible dating secretly, you and Gray are doing well in keeping your relationship off the radar.

"Pat, this isn't the city. Things that were socially acceptable there aren't here. Doing certain things before marriage… Pat, those things will make you look like a criminal. It's a traditional town and… if that were to be found out about someone, _anyone_, the consequences would be big…"

Pat shuddered, Claire continued. "Ever heard of Joanna, Pat?" she asked, looking down into the purple of her grape juice.

She nodded. "She's May's mom, right? Left her here with Barley and ran off to travel the world?"

Claire nodded gravely. "The story you hear; it's not the whole truth, do you know that? That version is circulated for May's sake…" Claire shook her head, "When Joanna came back; with a baby, no husband… things got bad. She was shunned, basically. Barley disowned her, Manna and Duke forbade her from seeing Aja; her best friend…

"When Joanna left, Barley was left shamed and disgraced; his only daughter not only being left pregnant by a man that wasn't her husband but for abandoning her baby here too. Duke and Manna were left disgraced too; Aja had left with Joanna. The only thing she left behind was May… and Barley raised her like she were his daughter…" she sighed, "He sees her as his second chance, Pat; like if he can raise May right he can make up for his 'failure' with Joanna…"

A silence ensued, when it was finally broken, Claire had changed the subject. "Just remember that story, Pat," she warned, true concern in her eyes, "You're already on thin ice, being a new 'foreigner' that hasn't earned the town's trust yet… It took my two years to be accepted as one of them…"

They talked a bit after that, but Pat eventually took her leave as the sun was setting. Claire saw her out and they hugged for the first time. Pat's confession had developed a higher level of trust and friendship between them, and they both needed that type of support. After all, they were both outsiders in a place full of traditional, watchful people.

Claire made her promise that she'd visit again soon, and when Pat left she went right back to watering her crops beneath the violet and orange painted sky.

* * *

The next day, Pat was trying to write when a knock came on her door. She already knew who it was when she opened it. Gray stood there, smiling at her. He was bearing gifts; a wrapped box of chocolates and a bouquet of trick blue flowers.

Pat took them with a smile and a peck on the cheek, then set them down on her nightstand but didn't bother inviting Gray in. Temptation may strike and Gray didn't like having to worry about leaving the room undetected.

She came out and asked him where they were going, already knowing the answer.

Gray smiled knowingly. "I was thinking that maybe we could… do something a little out of the ordinary today…"

"Like what?" Pat asked suspiciously.

Gray flashed two ballots of paper that looked familiar. Curious, Pat plucked them out of his hand and inspected them closely…

They were ferry tickets identical to the ones Pat had bought that day she had ran away with Damian. Pat looked at Gray in confusion, Gray laughed. "Since this place is getting really boring, I just thought we could go out to the city and watch a movie, get something good to eat that isn't homemade, maybe even go shopping…"

A man that wanted to shop? If the situation hadn't presented other problems Pat would've taken Gray to see Tim right away. But… there were problems…

"How about Damian?" Pat asked him.

"I already took care of it," he said smugly, proud of himself for having foresight, "He, Stu and May are having a sleepover at Elli's," when Pat looked at him angrily, Gray spluttered his words, "Not that I'm expecting for us to _stay_ in the city, or anything…"

"It isn't that!" Pat exclaimed, making Gray look around and try to quiet her, "How dare you make a decision about my brother without asking me about it first!? Who the hell do you think you are, Gray!?"

Gray's eyes widened, as if he hadn't thought that Pat would get angry. Distantly, Pat thought that Gray must be watching his entire plan for the day collapse. "I-I'm sorry," Gray said, sounding strangled, "I didn't know that it would upset you like that… I won't do it again…"

"You better not!" Pat snapped, making Gray look down at his shoes in shame.

They stayed silent for a minute or too, and when Pat calmed down, she sighed and pocketed the ferry tickets. "Okay, Gray…" she said, not believing what she was saying, "Let's go…"

Gray couldn't have been happier if he'd won a million dollars. Beaming, Gray raced down the stairs, heading towards the beach. Sighing in exasperation, Pat ran back into her room, grabbed her purse and ran after Gray.

Maybe she was happy that she and Gray could finally act like a couple in public without worrying that Manna may jump out at any second. Maybe she was happy that their relationship may yet survive longer than she had expected. Maybe she was happy she could just get out of the town for a little while.

But Pat definitely knew that she was happy about one thing…

That day, no matter how short, she was free. She didn't have to worry about Damian, about Mary or Manna. She didn't have to worry about when she and Gray could finally be together or if anyone besides Damian or Claire would find out.

All Pat knew was that today she and Gray were just Pat and Gray; a couple enjoying the day together. No strings attached. Today they were normal; a boyfriend and girlfriend enjoying each other's company. Maybe finally Pat and Gray could have fun.

* * *

Well, there ya go! Foreigner on Monday!

See ya then! I'll start answering reviews again soon! Sorry that I haven't been that good of a replyer... There's no excuse, and I'll start dishing out some replies soon!

R&R!

Have a great weekend!


End file.
